The Karpiuks are headed to Canada this summer! Specifically, British Columbia. We’ve been wanting to go to Vancouver for awhile now to see some of the Karpiuks that live out on the west coast. I’m excited about getting to spend some time with Lucas’ brother and sister-in-law and their family, and we’re hoping to hook up with Grandma & Grandpa Karpiuk, too. We’ll also head inland a bit to Penticton to see Lucas’ parents and some of our friends. Penticton is beautiful in the summer, and I’ve never been to Vancouver so I can’t wait for this vacation!
We planned the trip to Vancouver over our wedding anniversary so that we could keep up with our tradition: …

Unless having my US Immigration Visa approved is interesting, of course. Now I’m stuck in Montreal for a few days until the Consulate gives me back my passport and paperwork. As has been pointed out, there are undoubtedly much worse places to be stuck, but when all one wants is to go home, it still feels stuck.
Once I receive my paperwork, I’ll drive back to Toronto (to return the rental car) and then fly home. As I cross the border, I’ll use my paperwork to register as a Permanent Resident; I’ll then receive my greencard and Social Security Number by mail within a few weeks.
As with any bureaucratic process, I spent most of the time …

Whatever you want to call it, we did it. We’ve been wanting to visit the maritimes for awhile now, and gave ourselves a sneak preview by spending this past weekend in Nova Scotia. We didn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted to, but there’s no question that we will be back!

Happy October!
It seems like if you blink, several months can just fly right by before you even notice!  Here it is October, and our last post was back in July.  You’ve not missed too much, though there are a few new things going on in the Karpiuk family.
Oliver is still Oliver, and Winston is still Winston.  Oliver has turned six years old today, can you believe it?  Also today happy anniversary wishes go out to my little brother and his wife as well as our friends Joe and Jeri.  Congratulations on your first year of marriage!
Lucas recently switched jobs completely and is now working happily at Shell in web development at their big Shell Canada …

Weeeee’re back!  We’ve returned from our family road trip to beautiful Penticton, BC this past weekend and we had a blast!  We spent most of the day Friday soaking up the sun at Okanagan Lake in the newly fenced in and designated off-leash doggie beach with Oliver and Winston.  Oliver was happy to be free to swim without the burden of his leash and really enjoyed fetching his floating orange chew toy.  It was Winston’s first beach experience and we weren’t sure what to expect.  He was quick to chase after Ollie, even into the water, until he realized he could no longer touch the bottom.  Though his rear end sank like a brick, his doggie instincts prompted …